Fraternal Instincts
by Ace Trainer Alicia
Summary: She might be the World Guardian, but her brother still didn't trust the mysterious man who was walking uncomfortably close to her. Sequel to Divine Concerns. Semi-crack; oneshot


"Young man!" Kara-Meir shouted, beckoning towards the youth in question. "Yes, you—the blond lad with the big sword! A moment, please!"

The youth turned abruptly and quickly looked down at his feet as he spotted her. He really had to resist the urge to say "Please put some clothes on."

"Yes, ma'am… what do you need, ma'am?"

"Only a quick question," said Kara-Meir. "Have you seen the World Guardian anywhere on your travels?"

He shook his head. "Not for awhile—sorry. Why?"

"I want to find her so she can take her rightful place as champion of our cause," Kara-Meir replied. "Yet she wasn't there at Lumbridge, and she hasn't been seen around here either… Seriously, how hard is it to find a purple-haired woman?"

"You'd be surprised," the boy said wryly, and quickly hurried off before she could ask him any more questions. He normally tried to stay out of her way because he felt so uncomfortable having to look at her.

At least he didn't have to keep thinking about Kara-Meir for long, because she'd given him something else to think about—the fact that he hadn't seen his elusive sister for quite some time now.

Well, maybe that was partly his fault. He'd meant to try to contact her after the Battle of Lumbridge ended, he really had. But then he'd gotten distracted trying to help out in Burthorpe, and then Armadyl and Bandos had started fighting and he'd joined Bandos' forces because a badass war god was so much cooler and awesomer than some big bird…

"What kind of brother are you, Henry?" he muttered to himself, half under his breath. "You should at least try to look after her; it's what Dad would've wanted…"

He and Jaina might have never been close, but he was pretty sure she wasn't actively trying to avoid him, like she was the Godless faction. What did the World Guardian even do anyway? All he knew about it was that Guthix had asked her to do something big—and that their parents had been right when they used to say that Guthix had big plans for her.

For that matter, would she actually tell him if he asked? He knew she'd been involved in a lot of big world-shaking events, but every time he asked about her adventures, all she said was "I don't want to talk about it." It frustrated Henry to no end; what was the point of going adventuring if you never told anybody about your great deeds?

Maybe, if she wasn't going to talk about it herself, he could glance at her diary when she wasn't looking? Well, if he could find it anyway.

In any case, now would probably be a good time to look for her. Bandos could surely handle himself for now, even with there being so many more people over on Armadyl's side.

After awhile of wandering around the Grand Exchange and half of Varrock with still no sign of a single purple-haired head, Henry ventured aimlessly through the city's east gate, wiping sweat off his brow. He was starting to wonder if he should've just headed to Yanille and waited for Jaina near her place.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of pale blue light, and when he turned to look, an idea hit him. The wisps—that was it! He wasn't too great at the whole divination business, though he'd tried his best with it out there in the field, but he knew she was interested in it! He could probably find her by one of the wisp colonies—and this one was as good a place to start as any!

He was rather tired from walking so much, and his feet hurt, so when he finally managed to loop around and get into the middle of the Digsite, he had to stop to catch his breath.

It had been some time since he'd been here; there wasn't really much to do besides look around and watch the students working, which got boring after awhile. There was, however, that one big barge project—surely it had to be finished! He made a note to check it out before heading over to the wisps.

"Hi there!" a cheerful voice called out. "Are you going to take the exams so you can help with the dig?"

Henry nearly jumped and turned to see a girl of about his age approaching him. She had golden hair pulled neatly into two pigtails—not unlike the way Jaina wore her hair—and chocolate-brown eyes. She was dressed in purple and carried a worn teddy bear under her arm.

He shook his head. "Actually, I was looking for my sister. Nice to meet you anyway."

"Awww… We could use all the help we can get around here. Especially so more people can work on the big barge that's bound for this island full of fossils!" The girl motioned towards something, and Henry looked up to see a large crew still painstakingly working on the huge boat. "It's taking forever to get it off the ground for some reason."

She smiled and offered him a hand. "Sarah."

"Henry." He shook her hand politely. "You haven't ever seen my sister? Eighteen years old, usually carries a staff around, bright purple hair? I know she helped out around here here and there…"

"Oh, her?" Sarah said. "I see her go by quite a lot, actually. She found Mr. Lucky here that one time I dropped him!" She held the teddy bear closer in a rather protective hold. "I don't know what I'd do without him…"

Before Henry could say anything stupid about the bear, Sarah pointed and motioned him to follow her. "Wanna watch the wisps for a bit? I've been watching them go by ever since they first appeared. I wonder what they do?"

The youth nodded and followed her down to the fence, and no sooner had they gotten there than she pointed again. "Oooo, look!"

Henry glanced up, and he suddenly saw a flash of purple among the soft blue of the wisps. Quickly he looked around, hoping that hadn't just been his imagination.

Sure enough, he was in luck—there was Jaina walking through the wisps, looking quite a bit… fancier than she usually did. She was wearing a lavender silk skirt and a loosely fitting, bright shirt that had about a kajillion more shades of pink and purple than he could've ever imagined existed. There were a bunch of pink and white ribbons in her hair, and she was even carrying the girliest staff he'd ever seen—it was heart-shaped and had a pink glow on the top and everything.

Well, that was Jaina for you, he thought—she had to be the girliest adventurer who ever lived. Even that Alice woman who sometimes stopped him to throw a few treasures at him wasn't quite that girly.

He didn't have long to roll his eyes at his sister's fashion sense, though—she wasn't alone, and he immediately tensed up when he spotted the thin, tall man walking with her hand-in-hand.

The red-haired man was certainly in desperate need of a haircut, if his awful beard and dreads were any indication, and his rough clothing contrasted sharply with how dressed up she was. Still, Henry was on edge less because of how scruffy-looking he was and more because he was walking uncomfortably close to Jaina—too close. And the way he was looking at her…

He clutched the fencepost tightly. Who did this guy think he was, going anywhere near her like that? And why would she even fall for him? He was so… ginger. Was "I don't want to talk about it" her way of saying "I'm seeing some guy that our parents wouldn't have liked?"

Well, he wasn't really sure what their parents would have thought, but he suspected they would have wanted her to pick someone more… well-groomed, less ginger, and likely to be a good family man, and probably Guthixian too. There were lots of handsome Void Knights who wouldn't be that much older than her; why couldn't she go marry one of them instead?

"Awww! Isn't it so cute?" Sarah squealed, snapping Henry out of his thoughts. "So romantic…"

"Who's the ginger?" he demanded.

"Oh, that's Dr. Nabanik," Sarah said, glancing back towards the two. "He's been working on restoring the ruins under the site—I haven't gotten to see much of what's down there, but I've heard a lot about how impressive it looks!"

She stared at the two, sighing. "I just wish we saw more of him, but we really only ever see him when she's around… It's so cute seeing them though, like something out of a story! The ruggedly handsome archaeologist sweeps the fair maiden off her feet and all—"

"Shush," he said, putting a finger to his lips. "I wanna hear what they're saying!"

Sarah nodded and leaned a bit over the fence to listen, and Henry did the same.

"The wisps are so fascinating," Jaina was saying, and reaching out to touch one with her free hand. "I know how to handle them pretty well now, but it's still so interesting what can be done with this stuff…"

She stared at the wisp and lowered her hand. "At the same time, though… extracting those memories is a bit saddening… And they're a reminder that the world won't ever be the same…"

The doctor smiled warmly and squeezed her other hand. "Sometimes great loss can bring great gain as well, my dear. As I can attest to—on multiple counts."

Jaina blushed a deep red and smiled awkwardly his way. "Surely you don't mean little me is one of those…"

Nabanik chuckled softly and lightly brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. "Must you continue to be so modest?"

She merely giggled and looked up at him, her eyes bright. "Um, well…"

"Consider this a sign of the changes to come," he said, his gaze following a wisp for a moment before focusing back on her. "You know well that there will be even bigger changes around the corner when the Great Lord returns."

"I know." She clutched his hand a little tighter. "I-I don't know what to expect… but I'm not afraid, so long as you're with me…"

Henry had a pretty good idea of who the Great Lord was—and suddenly he was reminded of all that stuff Saradomin had been saying that one time. He thought he got it now—the implication was that she'd only converted because she was in love! Well, Saradomin hadn't mentioned that the guy was a ginger that didn't know what a haircut was, for some reason—but still.

He didn't want to believe that she would be that easily swayed by a mere man, though—surely she hadn't forgotten what their parents said about Guthix having big plans for her? Especially since it had turned out to be true?

Nabanik had drawn a little closer to Jaina, and though she shivered a little as his hand drifted across her cheek, the light in her eyes seemed to grow brighter. Henry prayed to every god he could possibly think of, even Guthix and Zaros, to please not let them kiss.

Neither of them said anything for the next few moments, and instead just continued to walk quietly through the wisps and gaze at each other. Sarah was staring with stars in her eyes, while Henry was still debating whether or not to go give the doctor a piece of his mind.

He made that decision the moment the red-haired man moved in to plant a kiss on her forehead. Sure, it wasn't on the mouth or anything, but that was his _sister_ there!

"Nabanik!"

Jaina's eyes widened as she spotted her brother swinging himself over the fence, and she shrank back behind Nabanik.

"Ape Face? What are you doing here? Go away!"

"'Ape Face?'" Nabanik repeated, eyeing her oddly.

"My kid brother there," she explained, blushing a bright red. "I-I used to call him that when we were really little—I'm the only one allowed to, though."

Henry merely strode purposefully over to the doctor. "Who said you could touch my sister?"

"Go _away_, Ape Face," Jaina snapped insistently, still bright red in the face. "This doesn't concern you!"

Nabanik nodded in agreement. "You should listen to her."

"It does too concern me," Henry shot back. "You've got some explaining to do, you… you… you _ginger_!"

Nabanik merely eyed him oddly for a moment, and then turned and whispered something to Jaina. She nodded and backed up a bit, and he turned back to Henry and slowly approached him.

"What is there to explain, young man? I presume you have functioning eyes at your disposal."

"Don't play smartass with me!" Henry snapped. "Who said you could touch my sister?"

The doctor didn't even look shaken, and his voice remained calm as he replied. "She did."

Henry felt taken aback. He wasn't quite sure what to say to that, and he had to stop and think a moment.

"Well that still doesn't mean you can just stick your hands wherever without my blessing!"

"And why, precisely, do the wishes of a mere child with a temper matter to what decisions Jaina makes more than her own wishes?"

Henry bit his tongue before he could yell "Who are you calling a child? I'll show you what I'm made of!" Instead he took a deep breath and answered as calmly as he possibly could.

"It's my duty as family man to look after my sister. In the absence of our father, it's up to me to decide who's worthy of my sister's hand!"

"You presume to be able to decide what's best for Jaina when you two have barely ever spoken to one another in years?" Nabanik scratched his beard thoughtfully. "And what precisely have I done to convince you that I am unworthy?"

This time Henry didn't have an answer. The doctor had a point, he didn't have a reason to dislike him other than that he was some strange man coming onto Jaina—but then again, he admittedly didn't know her all that well either.

"I can assure you, she is courageous, strong, and intelligent enough to make informed decisions herself," Nabanik continued. "I would advise you to respect her wishes."

Henry could feel some of his anger subsiding, but he wasn't ready to trust the redhead just yet. Well, he'd been hearing a lot from the Bandosians about the importance of being strong to triumph…

"I want to test you," he said, placing a hand on his sword. "Let's see if you really are worthy of her hand!"

Nabanik's eyebrows shot up sharply. "I would not try such a thing if I were you."

"Don't underestimate me!" Henry drew himself up proudly, his hand still on the hilt of his sword. "I might be young, but I'm an accomplished warrior! I've slain giants, dragons, zombies, you name it, I bravely served in the army of Zamorak in spite of Saradomin's clear victory, and I'm serving in Bandos' army now! What could you possibly put against that?"

"Some questions are best left unanswered, boy." Nabanik didn't break a sweat, and his voice was still eerily calm. "I can assure you, that is one of them."

"Awww, stop trying to be all mysterious and grow a spine already!" Henry was getting indignant. "Or are you too much of a coward to actually fight to prove you're worthy of my sister?"

Nabanik still didn't look fazed. "You are greatly trying my patience, boy. I do not wish you harm, but if you are so insistent that I force my hand—"

"Ape Face, you idiot! Stop!"

Henry had to let go of his sword as he felt his sister grab him by the scruff of the neck and proceed to shake him. "Gack—Jaina—let go willya…"

"You say you're acting on Dad's behalf? Well, Dad wouldn't have tried to pick a fight with a suitor! And did you seriously say you were fighting for _Bandos?_"

He gasped for breath. "Yeah—why?"

"You _moron_! Bandos tried to brainwash and enslave a dear friend of mine for his stupid war purposes, all because her people didn't want to fight for him anymore! I ended up having to kick his ass and everything!" She proceeded to shake him harder. "Can you imagine what worse things he'd do with even more power?"

"I—I didn't know that—you—gack—never tell—gah—me—ack—lemme go, please!"

Jaina let go of him, but not before giving him a whack on the head with her staff. "That was for fighting for Bandos."

She gave him another whack before he was even finished wincing. "And that was for trying to pick a fight."

"Owww!" Henry rubbed his head and winced. "I'm sorry, okay? I was only trying to look out for you for a change…"

"That's… nice of you, but I can indeed look after myself," Jaina said. "Also, it's… a little late to be asking me to get your blessing. We…"

She hesitated, turning a bit red, and wrung her hands before she spoke up again.

"We eloped…"

Henry merely stared at her, mouth open wide. When he tried to say something, no words came out.

Jaina looked down at her hands. "Please, little brother… just go away. We can talk later—like sometime when I'm not on a date, you know?"

Henry sighed and nodded, walking through the wisps and towards the gate. That really hadn't gone over well.

He really wanted to be a better brother to her—really, he did. But how was he going to do that? Could he ever get her to trust him enough to actually tell him about her adventures? Had she really only converted because she was in love? Should he still keep fighting in Bandos' army? What did Zaros even have to do with her or that Nabanik guy, anyway?

Where was he going to get the answers to all these questions?


End file.
